Roller conveyors are widely used to efficiently transport items. There are generally two types of conveyor rollers used in industry: roller bearing and plain bearing or “pin bearing”. Of the pin bearing rollers, there are two types: a non-sprung (i.e., no spring) pin bearing type and a sprung (i.e., with spring) pin bearing type. The non-sprung pin bearing has low friction such that the roller can easily rotate, but it cannot be easily inserted into the conveyor because it has to be assembled with the conveyor frame. In contrast, the sprung pin bearing design can be readily inserted and replaced in the conveyor frame because the spring allows the axle stub to retract and provide linear clearance for inserting the roller into the frame. However, the sprung pin has a large diameter that creates higher friction, which in turn causes power losses. Moreover, additional frictional losses are created by the spring engaging the pin. These designs also require the use of a large number of components that increase their expense and make servicing the roller more difficult. Manufacturing these designs can be rather difficult because the bearing housing limits the availability of certain radial features.
Thus, there is a need for improvement in this field.